Department for Transport

Highway Code

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) motoring organisations, and (2) other road users, regarding the imminent changes to the Highway Code.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: When carrying out the review of The Highway Code to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, the Department for Transport worked closely with an expert stakeholder group from the outset representing different users of the road. All road users had the opportunity to shape the changes to The Highway Code through a 12-week formal consultation process. The Department has been and continues to work with a broad range of stakeholders including Cycling UK, the AA, RAC, Road Haulage Association and the British Horse Society on a communications campaign to raise awareness of the changes that is fit for purpose and meets the needs of all road users.

Cabinet Office

Honours

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many honours, by each award level, were received in each region or nation of the UK in the New Year Honours 2022; and what percentage of the population of each such region or nation that number represents.

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manyhonoursabove OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working or providing service to, the South Yorkshire area at the time of their nomination for an honour in the New Year Honours 2022 list.

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many honours above OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working or providing service to, the Sheffield City Region at the time of their nomination for an honour in the New Year Honours 2022 list.

Lord True: In supporting the levelling up agenda, Her Majesty’s Government would like to see representation in the honours system from the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, reflecting the extraordinary contributions made across every part of this country, with a real focus in recognising parts of the country often overlooked. The information requested is enclosed in the below table and includes data from the Prime Ministers List only. Data is collected using the county that the recipient gives as their correspondence address; this is usually their home address and does not necessarily reflect their area of origin. Percentage of NY22 recipients living in each region by level. RegionNumber of BEM recipients in NY22 List% of NY22 BEM recipients living in each regionNumber of MBE recipients in NY22 List% of NY22 MBE recipients living in each regionNumber of OBE recipients in NY22 List% of NY22 OBE recipients living in each regionNumber of CBE recipients in NY22 List% of NY22 CBE recipients living in each regionNumber of higher recipients in NY22 List% of NY22 Higher recipients living in each regionTotal recipients on NY22 List in each region% of the total NY22 list living in each region% of UK population living in DA / regionEast3910.8%397.7%207.9%76.1%511.9%1108.6%9.3%East Midlands164.4%214.1%104.0%32.6%12.4%514.0%7.2%London6116.9%8717.1%6425.3%3732.5%1740.5%26620.8%13.4%North East61.7%173.3%83.2%10.9%00.0%322.5%4%Northern Ireland3910.8%407.9%145.5%21.8%00.0%957.4%2.8%North West328.9%387.5%145.5%76.1%24.8%937.3%11%Scotland195.3%326.3%187.1%119.6%24.8%826.4%8.2%South East5214.4%7715.2%4517.8%2219.3%511.9%20115.7%13.7%South West3610.0%469.1%207.9%32.6%12.4%1068.3%8.4%Wales123.3%203.9%104.0%43.5%24.8%483.8%4.7%West Midlands308.3%346.7%135.1%65.3%24.8%856.7%8.9%Yorkshire & Humberside185.0%5310.4%155.9%108.8%49.5%1007.8%8.2%Living Abroad10.3%40.8%20.8%10.9%12.4%90.7%n/aTotal361100%508100%253100%114100%42100%1278100%  The Government publishes honours transparency data broken down by both town/city and county. Data is collected using the county the recipient gives as their correspondence address (usually their home address rather than their places of origin). This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office. The transparency data for the New Year Honours List 2022 can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-year-honours-list-2022-cabinet-office. The Government does not collate data against political administrative areas and we cannot provide information regarding honours awarded in the Sheffield City Region.

Government Departments: Bain and Company

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the South African Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, published on 5 January, in particular its finding that Bain & Company acted "unlawfully"; and what plans they have tosuspend the contracts of Bain & Company with government departments in light of this finding.

Lord True: Individual contracts will contain clauses covering the conditions under which a contract may be terminated. It is for the contracting authority to determine what those conditions may be. The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

Department of Health and Social Care

Ambulance Services: Standards

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current average response time for ambulances in England.

Lord Kamall: The following table shows the mean average ambulance response times in hours, minutes and seconds England in November 2021 for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 incidents.Category 1 Life threateningCategory 2 EmergencyCategory 3 UrgentCategory 4 Non-urgent00:09:1000:46:3702:37:0803:12:49

Suicide: Mental Health Services

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS patients present as a suicide risk; and what steps they are taking in response.

Lord Kamall: The information requested is not collected centrally. There is no national standardised assessment of suicide risk against which to measure the number of people nationally who present as a suicide risk. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends against using risk assessment tools to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm, although such tools may be considered to help structure risk assessments. National Health Service organisations use a range of tools to assist clinicians in assessing a patient’s individual risk. However, these should be used to support the assessment process and should not replace clinical judgement. The National Suicide Prevention Strategy identifies groups known to be at higher risk of suicide than the general population, including those in the care of mental health services. We continue to work with the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group to monitor and understand suicide risk in different groups. We are investing an additional £57 million by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services. The Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme also aims to reduce the number of suicides that occur across inpatient mental health and learning disability services. NHS England and NHS Improvement is establishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week liaison mental health teams in every acute hospital to ensure that those presenting at hospital with mental health needs receive the appropriate care and treatment. By 2023/24, 70% of liaison services are expected to have met the ‘core 24’ service standard, working towards 100% coverage. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be supporting mental health trusts to refresh their Suicide Safety Plans to include both inpatient and community settings in 2021/22.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Lord De Mauley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why any person who has tested negative for COVID-19 four days after meeting someone who has tested positive is still required to self-isolate for a further six days.

Lord Kamall: All contacts of a positive case who are fully vaccinated, under 18 years and 6 months, participating in an approved vaccine trial, or unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate. Instead of needing to self-isolate, these contacts are advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days to help identify asymptomatic cases quickly to break chains of transmission.It is only unvaccinated contacts of a positive case that are now legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme they do not need to take LFD tests. If they choose to take a LFD test and it is negative, they must continue to self-isolate, because they could still become infectious.

Travel: Coronavirus

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they require suppliers of COVID-19 PCR tests for travel advertised on GOV.UK to record the complaints they receive; whether these suppliers are required to submit this data to the Government; and if so, whether they will publish this data.

Lord Kamall: We do not require such providers to record the complaints they receive.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto ensure people who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised receive clear communication regarding their risk from the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the steps they can take to mitigate that risk.

Lord Kamall: The Government issued updated public health advice on 24 December 2021 for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. This states that people who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised are advised to:- ensure they have had all of the vaccines they are eligible to receive, including their booster;- continue to follow any condition-specific advice they may have been given by their specialist;- work from home if they can. If they cannot work from home, they should speak to their employer about what temporary arrangements they can make to reduce the risk;- wait until 14 days after another person’s most recent dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before being in close contact with them;- avoid enclosed crowded spaces;- practice social distancing if appropriate;- ventilate their home by opening windows and doors;- ask friends and family to take a rapid lateral flow antigen test before visiting them;- ask home visitors to wear face coverings; and- wash their hands regularly and avoid touching their face.